Search Engine Optimization Explained

Search engine optimization is the art of designing and coding a website to get high rankings on a search engine for specific search phrases. Every page of your site can be optimized to do well in search engines for 2-3 specific phrases. The goal is to have your site come up on the first 1-3 pages in search results for your specific targeted search phrases.

How Pages are Optimized

Being listed, and doing well in a search engine like Google, is not luck. It takes a great deal of skill to beat your competition to the top of search results. Only skilled SEO (Search Engine Optimization) professionals can achieve great results. SEO is a full time job for professional site optimizers. Rates for a good SEO can be $250 per hour for phone consultation. A SEO professional needs to stay current with the latest optimizing techniques up to the day. What is effective one day can get you banned from search engines the next. Depending on your designers knowledge, they may be able to get you good results.

The Basics of How it's Done (see below for details)

1. Good search phrases are identified
2. These phrases are peppered in specific locations in high concentration on your pages
3. Coding that is only visible by search engines is added behind your pages
4. Relevant links are established from other sites to yours
5. The site is submitted to search engines
6. Wait 2-8 weeks and analyzed your results and adjust as necessary

1. Identify good search phrases

Your role: Brainstorm a list of 30 or so search phrases that pertain to your business. If your site is about kayaking tours in Maine, you might come up with:
"Maine kayaking tours", "sea kayaking in Maine", "Maine recreation", "Paddling tours in Maine", "Maine outdoor tours", and so on.

SEO professional's role: Takes your list and plugs it into wordtracker.com to identify:

• Similar phrases used by actual searchers
• Which search phrases are the most popular for your subject
• Which search phrases don't have a lot of competing sites. Less competition means the greater chance you have of being at the top of search results.

What is wordtracker.com: Wordtracker.com is a online service that tracks what searchers put into search engines. It's easy to use this tool, but interpreting the results is best left to a SEO professional. The wordtracker trial is free and informative.

2. Pepper these keyword phrases throughout the site copy:

Your role: Write 150-300 words of copy per site page, ideally. Search engines like a lot of text. Choose 2-3 keyword phrases to target per page. Repeat the chosen keyword phrases 5-7 times per page, in a way that still yields naturally well written copy. Every page of your site can be index by a search engine, so you should optimize each page to do well for specific keyword phrases.

SEO professional's role: Beyond simply adding the keywords many times to the visible site text, the SEO professional will make additional adjustments to the placement of the keywords throughout the pages. For example, keyword phrases that are also links have more weight than non-linked text and so on. The list of what works and what doesn't as far as placement and usage is too long for this tutorial.

3. Adding search engine code:

Your role: You don't have to do anything at this point.

SEO professional's role: They add what are know as "meta tags" to the pages. These are mostly hidden bits of code that let search engines know what the page is about. They are as follows:

• Title: adds a title to the page, can be seen in the very top of the browser window
• Description: this shows up after the page title in search results
• Keywords: this is not visible to your site audience, but is read by search engines
• Others: there are about 5 other less important meta tags

4. Establish links from other sites:

Your role: Search engines think that sites that have more links to them must be better sites. Thus the more links to your site from other sites, the better chance you will have of doing well in search results. Search engines only goal is to provide users with high quality, relevant search results.

• Contact anyone you know with a site and ask them to create a link to your site
• Ask sites with similar content as yours to link to your site. Search engines likes it when you get links from other sites with similar, relevant content. Links from sites that rank well for your keyword phrases are even better.
• Avoid signing up for any link building tools or other traffic building come ons
• You can check how many "inbound" links you have by going to Google and typing in "link:www.petermeans.com" in the search box. Use your web address.

SEO professional's role: The SEO professional may have additional suggestions for inbound link opportunities.

5. Submit your site to search engines

Your role: You don't have to do anything at this point. Do not bother signing up for any services that offer to automatically sign you up for thousands of search engines.

SEO professional's role: They will add your site to search engines for you, using search engine "submit site now" tools. The only search engine that really matters is Google, as it has by far the most users. Also, other search engines often just use Google's results. A good SEO professional will know where, and when, to submit your sites to search engines. The best way for Google to find your site is to have links to it from other sites. Keep building relevant links.

In order to be listed in Google, there must be at least one other site linking it. That site must already be in the Google index. Often the your website designer will add a link to your site from their portfolio. This will ensure you have at least one inbound link.

5. Wait and analyze the results

Your role: Enter your address into Google to see if they have you listed yet. Enter it like this "www.yourdomainname.com". If Google has you in their index, you will show up. Remember it can be 2 - 8 weeks for Google to add your site to its index. You have to be patient. Most are listed in about 2-4 weeks.

SEO professional's role: If Google doesn't find your and index your site, they should keep submitting your site until it's in the index. They should also build a few more inbound links if necessary, for Google to find your site.

What Search Engines Spider and Robots Can Not Read

• Any text that is created as a graphic file
• Any text inside a Flash animation, or Flash Site
• Site pages inside of site frames

Search Engine Optimization is Just One Part of a Good Marketing Strategies

Search engines are finicky. What worked one day, may not work the next. Your rankings will rise and fall over time. There are no guarantees that your site will get good rankings.

You can not rely on your Google rankings to be your only marketing plan. If you do well in Google you should consider it icing on the cake. Never take it for granted. Search engine optimization should be just one part of your broad marketing plan. In addition to a good search engine plan, traditional marketing methods should always be employed.

SEO Consulting Available From PeterMeans.com

If you have a site, and would like to talk about having it optimized, you can contact petermeans.com. We can consult with your over the phone, or give your site an complete search engine marketing strategy.

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